Evan Almighty

DVD

HD-DVD

Some forty years ago comedian Bill Cosby had an album that featured a skit of
his about Noah. The humor revolved around the relationship between Noah and God.
There were differences over the building of the ark, the care of the animals and
even how the neighbors reacted to the construction of a huge wooden ship
blocking their driveways. This basic premise is what is behind the film ‘Evan
Almighty’. While it was marketed as a sequel to the hit ‘Bruce Almighty’ it is
not so much a continuation of the first film; it is more like another story set
in the same fictional universe. The two leads of the previous film decline
reprising their characters but ‘Bruce’s’ breakout star, Steve Carell’ once again
gets to show his form of dry humor. The film does have its funny moments but it
suffers from the usual problems for a sequel. It has big shoes to fill without
Jim Carey to help shoulder the comedy load. This film has the largest budget for
a comedy to date (estimated at about $200 million) but occasionally lacks focus
and direction. The cast is expert and talented enough to carry this as a
reasonable popcorn flick and fun for the whole family. Now this is a major plus
that covers a multitude of sins.

As the film starts we find news anchor woman Susan Ortega (Catherine Bell)
bidding her on screen partner Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) farewell. He is leaving
television news having just been elected the U.S. Congressman for Buffalo, New
York. The main plank of his campaign was ‘Change the World’, highly ambitious
for a freshman congressman from a small district. Evan moves his family to a
suburban neighborhood in Virginia, just over the river from Washington DC. From
the camera’s vantage point we see a white dove with a branch in its mouth
following the Baxter’s car from above. Evan has a nice, typical family. His wife
Joan (Lauren Graham) cares for their three sons; Ryan (Jimmy Bennett), middle
child Jordan (Graham Phillips) and eldest Dylan (Graham Phillips). The car they
drive is somewhat anachronistic of a politician out to change the world, a gas
guzzling Hummer. Ironically the rear seat televisions are playing ‘Animal
Planet’ as they enter the gated community that will become their new home. The
new Baxter house is one of the first in a new part of the development surrounded
mostly by empty lots. Evan is not exactly environmentally conscious. He is
gleeful when he finds out that the wood that will be used to make his kitchen
cabinets is over 300 years old. When a stray dog wonders over to his youngest
son Evan shows that he is also not an animal friendly person. On his first night
in the new home Evan feels overwhelmed, kneels beside his bed and prays to God
for help after thanking him for all his new material possessions. When he wakes
up he looks over at the alarm clock and sees that it displays Gen: 6:14. That
number seems to pop up all over as Evan continues his day. A strange box is
delivered containing primitive tools. Evan is normally meticulous about his
appearance but he seems to be growing his hair and beard at an alarming rate.
Adding to the mystery is eight adjacent plots in the neighborhood have been
purchased in his name. He goes off to work at his new office in the Capital and
meets his quirky assistant Rita Daniels (Wanda Sykes) and the influential senior
congressman Chuck Long (John Goodman). Back at home huge quantities of lumber
are delivered to Evan’s home. After seeing Gen. 6:14 one too many times he looks
it up in the Bible, it is the account of Noah being told by God to build the
ark. He runs outside and finds God (Morgan Freeman) dressed all in white sitting
atop the pile of wood. God tells Evan that he is to build an ark. While doubtful
at first Evan begins to notice that animals appear to be all around him. When
the animals start to follow Evan to work he finally announces his mission from
God and Congressman Long calls for his removal from office. His wife leaves him
taking the children to her family. God intervenes with her and she returns to
stand by her man and help him finish the ark.

One of the most difficult sub genres to master is the message comedy. You
have to balance getting the message across without becoming overly preachy and
obscuring the humor. Here the writers just missed this objective. The message of
helping others, that humans are the caretakers for the planet hits you over the
head while the humor is based more on the talent of the cast than witty writing.
The comedy is softer than need be even for a family film. They tried so hard to
make a gentle movie that the producers forgot to make sure people would laugh at
loud at it. The ending is a bit too pat and an almost textbook case of Deus ex
machine. On the plus side this film has great production values; that is the
attention to the details of the filming. A life size ark measuring 450 in
length, 80 feet wide and 51 feet high was actually constructed. There was over a
hundred species of animals appearing in the flick, the delight of every animal
wrangler in Hollywood. The physical humor plays better for the younger set but
will get a chuckle from the parents watching along. The film moves at fast pace
getting right into things without much in the way of exposition.

The salvation of the film is without any doubt Steve Carell. His dry delivery
carries the day here. He is well placed here as a man who is asked directly by
God to do something that not only seems impossible but also makes him a social
pariah. He has the knack for slapstick humor and shows it off here with flair.
Carell is the everyman that pulls the audience in with his ability to let us
identify with him. Lauren Graham is trying to pull away from her years playing a
Gilmore Girl. She does well here has the beset upon wife and mother worried
about the mental health of her hirsute hubby and a few hundred animals roaming
around her backyard. Her performance is particularly touching in the restaurant
scene where God is her waiter and explains to her that God gives people the
opportunity to do what they need to do. As always Wanda Sykes masters her role.
She is the skeptic who sees her new boss as a nut case but has to come around at
the end. She is one of the best at reaction shots, just look at her face to see
a true comedian.

This DVD release does work as a very well; as expected for something from
Universal Studios. The video is presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 with an excellent
color palette and contrast. The transfer is near perfect. The Dolby 5.1 audio
has a distinct channel separation and provides a full, rich sound stage. There
are also a nice set of extras to keep the family entertain after the film is
over. In ‘The Ark-itects of Noah's Ark’ the difficulties of constructing a full
size ark are considered. Fortunately the workmen were able to use modern tools
and techniques. Applying the considerable amount of hair to Mr. Carell is the
topic of ‘Becoming Noah’. In a nice nod to the actor a zipper was installed in
the front of his robes. The hair took about three hours a day to apply, often
one strand of hair at a time. Another featurette focuses on the problems
inherent in having hundreds of animals on set. ‘Animals on Set Two by Two’ has
some of the antics the animals were up to while on set. The climactic flood is
featured in ‘A Flood of Visual Effects’ where tons of water had to be directed
just right. All the special effects are covered in ‘The Almight Green Set’
including how the animals were increased in numbers thanks to computer graphics.
There is also a look at Steve Carell, some outtakes and a little game for the
kids. This works as a family film so make some popcorn, gather the kids and
enjoy.

If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he
give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give
him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone
prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy
feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?